White Winter

The snow was six feet high, and miles deep in our souls by the time we thought things would be taking a turn for the better. It kept us intact the way ice and rock clung together off the sides of the jutting out cliffs just outside our village. "Village" meaning "town", "city", or even "clan", I suppose. It was "the winter of '69" - as people liked to call it, for the craziness could only be measured up against the year itself that went down in infamy - when everything went to hell. The freeze swept over us like a blanket on a cold night, except the only difference was the type of blanket we were used to, we didn't get. It was soggy, frozen over, and miserable. Granted, the start wasn't bad, and no one suspected a thing until things got increasingly worse.
The rain came first, not the snow. It drizzled for days on end until we thought the clouds had become rain themselves- an ocean uplifted in gravity and only ever coming down in the small droplets that alighted on our faces like dewdrops on grass blades.
Next came the flooding. The lack of sun and clear skies fixated the days into a dreary mess of depression and open waterways in the canals of farms and overflowing gutters in the streets. Many thought nothing of it, as they lived in dreary places like this for their entire lives. Others, however, didn't, and instead panicked as the weeks went by. Some such as myself were overjoyed to have something other than the sweltering heat, but became bothered when the natural chaotic, crazy weather we knew didn't return.
The snow was considered last for a long time, the sudden hail a frail surprise in the thickening of uncertainty and spite of the people. On and off it went, hurling small golf balls of death at the heads of unsuspecting passersby as they went out grocery shopping or just out, sick of being perpetually stuck inside. The snow didn't cease in the weeks to come, and neither did the ever growing hail storms - though their size decreased exponentially with every other few storms.
The weathermen and women couldn't accurately predict the future with the pessimistic promise of more incoming hail and snow, the rain long forgotten in nature's mind as the earth began to freeze over. The clouds only seemed to thicken and spread out among the fields of land in either a misty fog or damp blanket of *el*. Snow coats, gloves, and heavy duty boots were more common among the sensible and workers out in the ice and snow filling the streets. Many refused to participate in the new "fashion" of the season, and - as far as i can remember, for it may have been only a few months ago, i'm sure - froze off their toes in spite of it all. It wasn't incredibly long until the snow began to pile up dangerously, and cars were banned from the streets, pedestrians and buses becoming more common with the local city folk.
The hail had long since frozen the floods the rain began, warming up and moving on with the help of city workers and the almost-a-prototype of the worlds "heat-blowers", made out of mostly battery powered hair dryers taped together on selfie sticks or heated leaf blowers made by the engineering locals. The snow reached six inches in the first week of snow, eight in a mere two days after that, and a full foot by mid-next week. In the third week of October - the second month of rainy disasters and hail-ful nights - the snow piled up enough to shut you both out and in your house if you didn't pop by to melt the ever growing snow and ice outside your doors, windows, and roofs. A threat from mother nature to collapse houses and buildings.
The news alerted people regularly to stay inside unless absolutely necessary, and to continue to check the heat both inside and outside homes for optimal living. TV News stations shut down afterwards. Only once per week would something show up regarding news on the TV the next month. Radio stores were sold out by Sunday night every night for any form of daily news. Whilst radio stations were thriving - the technology needed to broadcast to a wide array of people via radio and telecommunications much simpler than that of screens - TV stations for kids shows, adult TV, and anything in between followed ensuite with everything sports. The best thing you could find would be reruns on Youtube or the occasional new hockey or other ice skating sports. The name "Ice-Sports" took over Esports and the NFL in mere days as far as the population were concerned. Tennis, soccer- you name it, it was probably gone with the last dozen snowstorms that week as nothing but a summer memory of gold, glory, and warmth. There was probably a riot at some point, but no one could stay out that long in the ice blizzards to protest about anything... these days, anyway.
ESPN was at a loss.
The debut of six feet of snow lasted a few months, but the ongoing and increasingly rare snowstorms became frightening with the mass amount of unending hail descending over the semi-unoccupied streets.
By the beginning of December, the snow had dropped by two feet, then three. There was hope. Hope things could, and would, go back to normal. Much like an outbreak only a few megure years ago, we knew we could wait it out for the happy ending and go on with life the way it did before- like it was supposed to. However, hope is nothing but a word when it comes to mother nature. The decline in snow from the onslaught of hail was over in february with an average of two inches per day and six at night over the three months renewed strength and cluttered streets. Cars still couldn't be used, and many were frozen over or had been taken apart and reused for more sturdy housing, warmth, and blockage over all outside house entrances and exits. Buses were less optimal now with the salted roads and streets now melting as well as we thought, but you could still catch one or two for long distance travel if need be. Trains had already been made into shelters on the tracks, and few underground subways still moved without unabiding fault.
It was then hope was crushed. The outburst of people and businesses had crippled half the worldly economy, with only food, livestock, and clothing "thriving" as companies pitched in for profit - many following the government's orders and pleas for their people (but mostly themselves). Food Banks that had been dwindling in resources over the period of hibernation had begun to see the light of day again as they were sponsored and driven about the streets like a parade of wealth and power, giving to those in need. Hoarding had become an occupational habit people fell back on as the reminder of quarantine slapped them in the face like a hand made of ice. But the snow had receded enough for this, so it was.
March through may was hell. The now common blizzard and storms came in full force - this time more than ever - and sent everyone back into hiding. Some were rescued from the wreckage of ruined homes and taken away to shelters under businesses or relocated themselves to the homes of neighbors, friends, and strangers.
It was then that snow piled up on the sides of city streets like mountains twelve feet and higher, while around homes were makeshift igloos as protection in neighborhoods. The roads and walkways were never not slick and covered in sheets of multicolored salt. BUses had transformed into military looking contraptions to keep the cold out, heat in, and tires from slipping into buildings, off roads, and down ravines. If country borders weren't closed before, they were now. The lack of traffic was abundant with the overflowing snow and PSA's for more pedestrians and less community traffic.
The world was white.
Beautiful.
Haunting.